RENTON, Wash. -- During his decade in Los Angeles, Pete Carroll felt the void.Even though USC football was the biggest thing in the Los Angeles area during the 2000s and Carroll was the architect behind the dominant Trojans, there was something missing in the football community without the NFL.It just didnt feel right, Carroll said. There was a hole there that was so obvious. Thats why the league was so adamant and so diligent about staying with it and eventually getting it done.Perhaps its just coincidence -- but most likely not -- that Carrolls Seattle Seahawks will be the first visiting NFL team to play in Los Angeles in 22 years when they face the Rams on Sunday. Six other teams will visit the Coliseum this season. Many of those will have a number of players from California, typically one of the top states for producing NFL players.But few of those will match the connections and history that the Seahawks have.There is still a connection. It was that deep of an experience with the fans and the school and the community and all that, Carroll said.Carroll has the most obvious history from his nine years as the head coach at USC. He arrived at USC under heavy scrutiny as a twice-fired NFL reject and made the Trojans champions again.I saw it really as an opportunity, Carroll said. Our first game we played San Jose State and there were like 40,000 people there. When theres 40,000 people in that stadium its like theres nobody home, its like a spring game. I was kind of disappointed, I was like, `This is what its like? It changed after a while. It was always obvious to me that there were tremendous opportunities.There are others who are relishing their opportunity to play in LA. Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner grew up 45 minutes from the Coliseum and hoped to play for the Trojans in college. He ended up at Utah State instead, making this weekend his first opportunity to play in the venerable stadium.When I saw that on the schedule I definitely was excited to not only play my first game in L.A., but to also play the first game since whenever it was, Wagner said. I think its a fun opportunity, we have a lot of California guys that are looking forward to it. Ive never gotten a chance to have all my family there. I have family who cant travel because of certain things, so to be 45 minutes away and have them come see a game, Im looking forward to it.Richard Sherman also has a lengthy history, one that Carroll would rather forget. During his time at Stanford, Sherman was part of two of the more memorable Cardinal wins at the Coliseum.Sherman caught a key fourth down pass on the winning drive of Stanfords 24-23 upset of USC in 2007 that ended the Trojans 35-game home winning streak. Two years later, Sherman came back as a cornerback and returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown in Stanfords 55-21 blowout that became known as the Whats your deal game.Im sure its going to be huge for Pete, its going to be cool, Sherman said. He has a lot of good memories and some bad memories in that stadium. Its going to be fun. I have a lot of great memories, very fond.Game notes QB Russell Wilson practiced Wednesday despite the sprained right ankle suffered in Sundays win. His attitude is as charged up as you can imagine, Carroll said. ... Carroll said RB Thomas Rawls will get the start against the Rams. Christine Michael was the starter in the opener. ... RB C.J. Prosise is practicing this week but has a large protective club on his right hand after suffering a small bone fracture in the opener.---Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL TreQuan Smith Hoodie .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Saints Hoodies Shop . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. http://www.cheapsaintshoodiesjerseys.com/ . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. Rick Leonard Hoodie .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Marcus Davenport Hoodie . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said.ARLINGTON, Texas - With the Blue Jays winners of four-in-a-row and eight of 11, TSN.ca sat down with veteran Mark DeRosa to discuss the state of the club, its chances of emerging from the basement of the American League East and the leadership of manager John Gibbons. Heres the transcript of the discussion: TSN.ca: The team is starting to come together here, I guess winning does that, but have you seen a process thats led the results of late? DeROSA: Well, obviously, were getting really good starting pitching performances. I mean, Mark Buehrle, hes had three or four just really, really good starts in a row. Getting (Josh Johnson) back, hopefully we get Brandon (Morrow) back, Chien-Ming Wang came in and gave us almost eight innings the other night. R.A. (Dickey) always takes the ball every five days. I think its just a situation where were getting a little bit more consistent, the lineups getting more consistent, seems to be the same guys against the same matchups. Guys are kind of knowing where they fit in and what their roles are. Weve had guys like Adam Lind just take off and really, really solidify that four-hole and give Edwin (Encarnacion) some serious protection. Its just about getting healthy. We all knew the talent was here, it was just a matter of how long could it go this bad without changing. I think were all excited that were playing better. I think we realize there are reinforcements coming in the likes of Jose Reyes, Brett Lawrie and Brandon Morrow. Those are three key pieces that certainly are going to help us. TSN.ca: The expectations, all the new faces, you guys coming together, does a team with all these new faces, in a city thats starved for a winner, need some time just to gel and relax? Were guys trying to do too much early? DeROSA: Well I think so. I mean I cant speak for everybody. I know thats what it certainly appeared to be. I think I told you this in spring training, I was in a similar situation in 07 in Chicago with a lot of new faces and a new manager and just a lot of expectations thrust on a team that spent a lot of money. We got off to a very similar start, maybe not as bad as the start we got off to here pretty similar and found ourselves constantly trying to claw our way back to .500 to give ourselves a chance in the second half. We were able to do it and end up winning the division so by no means has anyone lost confidence in here. If anything its only kind of slowing growing. I look forward to us playing good for the rest of the year. TSN.ca: In your experience back then was there a turning point with that Cubs team? DeROSA: I think we were about six games back at the time. We were playing Milwaukee, a day game in Wrigley and Aramis Ramirez, we were pretty much out of the game, Aramis Ramirez hit either a three-run homer or a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th to send us to the W. I mean, you go from eight games potentially back to five, it was almost like a three-game swing for us and it kind of just, the fans lit up, everyone went crazy and it was a springboard for us getting hot. Obviously Lou (Piniella,) hes a fiery guy, I think a lot of the early season struggles was getting to know his style, him getting to know us, maybe trying to do too much like we were doing here. I think a lot of factors pointed to it but at the end of the day we never lost confidennce in the fact that we were really good and really talented, it was just a matter of it coming out.dddddddddddd TSN.ca: Well probably need hindsight for this but is the type of home run that Jose (Bautista) hit in Chicago, with two strikes and two outs in the ninth to tie the game and you win in extras, could that be a turning point? DeROSA: And then I also think a situation like today. You come into todays game, its a situation where weve won three games in a row off a good team, we seem to match up well. I mean, if were able to pull off a four-game sweep in Texas against a team thats gone to two of the last three World Series can only boost your confidence going forward. Theyre a great team over there, a lot of respect for them, so to come in here and continue to play well. But yeah, there are moments when youve got to get lucky. It seemed like early in the season everything we did kind of blew up in our faces. Every error cost us a run, every missed pitch execution-wise was a homer, it was just one of those situations. Maybe we can get it going, trending in the other direction. TSN.ca: We dont know when Bretts going to be back but what does he need to do when he returns? DeROSA: Relax. I think thats the one word, relax. We need him to be Brett. We dont need him to try and carry us, we dont need him to try and be the man, we just need him to play his game. I think him relaxing and his infusion of energy into the clubhouse is something that makes any clubhouse better, I really believe that. Hes a fiery guy, he keeps everyone on their toes, and the energys infectious, it really can be at times when youre playing a game in Texas in 100-degree heat. I think thats the thing, weve got a nice flow to the lineup right now, like I said Gibbys been consistent with the lineups hes thrown out there. Our bullpens been phenomenal, I hate to not mention that, theyve been phenomenal. I kind of give them, I dont want to say a pass, but a situation where I expect it kind of out of them now. That goes without saying but our starting rotation, hopefully with Brandon coming back, can get comfortable. Josh throwing the ball the way hes capable of and a consistent lineup, whether it be against righties or lefties, whatever Gibbys doing that day, just lets us relax and have fun and play. TSN.ca: The manager, earlier on, came under some criticism. As a player youve played for a lot of different guys, we just talked about Lou, how has John Gibbons performed under the circumstances? DeROSA: Unreal, unreal. You know, you probably couldnt say it in the press and I know guys would bite their tongues, you know sometimes maybe the manager, guys dont see eye to eye with him and you can understand maybe some things getting written. But with John, no, it couldnt be further from the truth. Not at all. Hes a mans man, he treats us like men, he expects us to show up and perform and be accountable and be an adult. For me hes been absolutely everything I thought hed be from the guys I talked to coming in. Hes been awesome and to watch him go through that early-season criticism was really, really difficult because it had absolutely nothing to do with him or anyone on the coaching staff. We were just playing bad, bad baseball so Im glad that weve gotten on this little streak. I hope we can keep it going for the remainder of the season because hes been a great manager. Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Throwback China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '